Fair Board restarts search for new manager

The Flathead County Fair Board has gone back to the drawing board to find a new fair manager.

After interviewing three finalists by phone during a June 3 work session, board members were unable to agree on a successful candidate to replace former Fair Manager Jay Scott, whose contract wasn’t renewed in February.

Now the board has scrapped its initial round of 45 applications and extended the job application deadline until July 6.

With the Northwest Montana Fair just two months away, it’s unlikely the county will have a new manager at the helm by then.

“I thought they’d have someone that I could work in tandem with” during the fair, said interim Fair Manager Ted Dykstra Jr., who took a leave of absence from his Fair Board position to step in as interim manager. “But unless they really get their act together I don’t see that happening.”

The high cost of living in the Flathead Valley was a concern for a couple of top candidates. The county is advertising the job for an annual salary of $60,000.

Scott, who served as fair manager for 14 years, was earning $63,259 a year. He has sued the county and several Fair Board members, alleging he was wrongfully discharged and publicly embarrassed when he was let go.

The job is posted on the county website and at the local Job Service. It’s also listed with the Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs and International Association of Fairs.

Earlier this year the Fair Board changed the fair manager job description to fairgrounds operations manager to reflect broader duties that now involve managing expanded facilities — including the Expo Building and Trade Center — that are used year-round.

Among the new duties are researching options and preparing proposals to adopt technology to automate manual processes and enhance efficiency at the fairgrounds.

The new operations manager also will take a bigger role in marketing the facilities, in addition to managing the many elements of the Northwest Montana Fair.

Dykstra said he’s sticking by his decision not to apply for the manager job, but added he would consider it in the future, “down the road a year or two maybe” if he’s assured there’s “public acceptance” of him in the manager position.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com